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Portal:Technology
The technology portal

Technology ("science of craft", from Greek τέχνη,

techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία,
-logia) is the collection of techniques, skills,
methods, and processes used in the production of
goods or services or in the accomplishment of
objectives, such as scientific investigation.
Technology can be the knowledge of techniques,
processes, and the like, or it can be embedded in
machines to allow for operation without detailed
knowledge of their workings. Systems (e. g.
machines) applying technology by taking an input,
changing it according to the system's use, and then
producing an outcome are referred to as
technology systems or technological systems.

The simplest form of technology is the development

and use of basic tools. The prehistoric discovery of
how to control fire and the later Neolithic
A steam turbine with the case opened. Such
Revolution increased the available sources of food,
turbines produce most of the electricity used
and the invention of the wheel helped humans to
today. Electricity consumption and living
travel in and control their environment. standards are highly correlated. Electrification is
Developments in historic times, including the believed to be the most important engineering
printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have achievement of the 20th century.
lessened physical barriers to communication and
allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale.

Technology has many effects. It has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global
economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-
products known as pollution and deplete natural resources to the detriment of Earth's environment.
Innovations have always influenced the values of a society and raised new questions in the ethics of
technology. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, and the
challenges of bioethics.

Philosophical debates have arisen over the use of technology, with disagreements over whether technology
improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar reactionary
movements criticize the pervasiveness of technology, arguing that it harms the environment and alienates
people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued
technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition.

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